Viva preparation

::::copy and paste from a post by kak Fizah Sarif in the Facebook::::

Dedicated to all friends yg sdg berjuang...insyallah..insyallah...insyallah

Salam to all future scholars: I really would like to spark with you the viva questions, we want to to share and highlight the strategies of answering viva questions?, We need feedback from those who already doing their viva and how they overcome?
Here I can put some of these questions:

...

In one sentence, what is your thesis?
What have you done that merits a PhD?
What is your original contribution to knowledge in your subject area?
What would you do differently if you could do your thesis again?
Who has had the strongest influence in the development of your subject area in theory and practice?
How long term is your contribution, given the anticipated future developments in X?
What have you learnt from your research experience?

ANSWER:

I had my viva in Oct 2005. Long time ago. I think, all those listed questions were asked, either directly or indirectly, during my viva. Let me share my personal take/suggestion on those:

→ In one sentence, what is your thesis?

My thesis is about ____________ (ISSUE); attempting to investigate ____________ (RESEARCH QUESTION) by employing _______________ (METHOD).

→ What have you done that merits a PhD?

I think the novel output/s of my research is/are mainly in terms of ________________ (choose one or a combination: METHOD/THEORY/FINDING) where __________________ (provide an ‘over-view’ description of your METHOD/THEORY/FINDING).

→ What is your original contribution to knowledge in your subject area?

The previous studies on ________________ (ISSUE) are mainly limited to ________________ (describe the main corpus of existing literature) in terms of (choose one or a combination: METHOD/THEORY/FINDING). My research has explored/found new dimensions, which are __________________ (describe yours, in relations to METHOD/THEORY/FINDING).

→ What would you do differently if you could do your thesis again?

Under the circumstances where my project had been operating the last _____ years, I believe I have done everything that is necessary based on the pre-determined scope of my research and the limitations that come with it. However, some recent studies (cite the most current literature on your ISSUE) have explored _________________________ (describe the latest METHOD/DATA/THEORY). Under these new circumstances, I would probably have ___________________ (describe what you want to do differently) instead of _______________ (describe what you did) during the ________________________ (specify the stage: framework building, data collection, analysis, interpretation, etc).

* My supervisor reminded me several times - that if I ever get asked this question - I must stay FIRM with what I had done. Sometimes the examiner may use this question to trick you into revealing the weakness of your research. But it might be also asked to test how broad your perspective is. So find a way to answer it based on a very specific context.

→ Who has had the strongest influence in the development of your subject area in theory and practice?

There is no clear consensus in literature of who is the most influential, but personally I think __________________ (state your choice) could take such credit for his/her contribution in __________________________________ (describe your justification).

OR

Based on the cumulative literatures, it is obvious that ____________________ (state the most notable scholar/s) has/have had the strongest influence in this subject area. However, for this specific sub-niche which has been the focus of my research, I think _________________ (state your choice) is the most influential because his/her work on ________________________ (describe his/her most related studies to your thesis) has established ______________________ (the most impressive element of the work).

* This kind of question normally has no WRONG or RIGHT answer. The examiners simply want to know how you position your own scholarly outlook, as a potential PhD graduate. So it is always good to be a little bit assertive – and not afraid to make a stance.

→ How long term is your contribution, given the anticipated future developments in X?

The main contribution of my thesis is related to method/framework/theory which has addressed _____________ (describe the specific issues/problems). It will remain relevant until new _________________ (describe how your contribution functions) is established, which may take _____________ (give your estimate: e.g. 5-10) years.

* This question is not so common for social sciences/humanities candidate. I guess, this is mostly for applied sciences/economics and education.

→ What have you learnt from your research experience?

I learn that PhD is a very interesting journey. There are many different options to achieve the same objective; and each one of these methods has its own scientific merit, which is neither more nor less valid than the others.

* This was actually my answer (not the exact quote – but implied this meaning) for the same question. Because throughout my viva, the two examiners were quite obsessive in suggesting many new different methods (which they thought were better than what I did).

To other friends, pls share...

First day for the three of us..

First day for the three of us.. This was actually happened last Thursday, Sept 13 2012. My husband started his new job, my daughter stayed with her babysitter after a very long time was pampered by his father at home, and I got a new office. All I can say is Alhamdulillah, all praise is due to Allah.

That the things we want to happen. It's good for my husband because he can earn more money, after being sick of staying at home for years. That's good for my daughter so that she can learn how to make friends and improve her spoken english. An office in the math department which was allocated for me is really awesome. I don't have to bring heavy books and laptop to library anymore, I can perform solah easily, plus my office is next to my Research Advisor's office. So, I have to do my work when he is around. hehe..

Another thing that I want to announce is, I passed my Comprehensive Exam. Subhanallah, even it was really hard and stressful, Allah helped me. I did bad in written part and Alhamdulillah I redeemed myself in oral part.

The oral part (something like presentation) was always been a nightmare for me since I came to US. I had a trauma when it comes to do a presentation in front of audiences. (I told you my story in a previous post). This time the audiences were consisted of 5 professors only. Scary, right? They were the ones who write the exam's questions and another one is a guest from outside of the department. So, I made sure that I know how to solve all the problems, seek help from my classmate and went to see each of the professors. I got to do this.

Actually, I had a "petua" to do well in a presentation. You should try this. It's a worth to try, nothing to lose. Recite 40 times of Surah Yasseen and make a doa to Allah so that He can make the presentation going well.

I've done it and that worked for me. I felt very close to Allah and truly belived that He will help me. On that day, I answered most of the questions confidently. Some questions were hard, but somehow Allah gave me a "ilham" to answer. Subhanallah, even the thing that I don't understand before, He gave me the knowledge and understanding on that time. It's called rizq. I explained to the professors and they looked satisfied. My oral exam was only took about one hour, they said "you're better than other student, they made to two hours." When the panel announced that I passed, there were tears in my eyes. I can assure you, that's happy tears. Alhamdulillah..




Mental note: Prepare for research group meeting. Read research papers and present them to the audience with a limited time frame.

4 TAHAP MENDIDIK ANAK IKUT SUNNAH RASULULLAH

I got this from a post in Facebook and copy it here.  (just want to keep it for my own reference).

4 tahap bagaimana mendidik anak mengikut sunnah Rasulullah s.a.w. :

PERTAMA:
Umur 1-7 tahun. Pada masa ini, Rasulullah s.a.w menyuruh kita utk memanjakan, mengasihi dan menyayangi anak dengan kasih sayang yg tidak berbatas. Biarkan anak-anak bermandikan kasih sayang pada tahap ini.

KEDUA
Umur 7-14 tahun. Pada masa ini Rasulullah s.a.w menyuruh kita ...

untuk mula menanamkan DISIPLIN kepada anak-anak dengan mengajar dan menyuruh mereka untuk mengerjakan solat. Bahkan apabila umurnya sudah sepuluh tahun, seorang ayah boleh memukul anaknya jika enggan mengerjakan solat.

Berdasarkan pakar-pakar jiwa anak, sememangnya pada umur 7-14 tahun ini masa terbaik untuk menanamkan disiplin dan pembentukan sahsiah seorang anak. Pada fasa inilah seorang ayah akan menjadikan anak itu seorang muslim atau Yahudi, Nasrani dan Majusi seperti yang dikatakan oleh Rasulullah s.a.w dalam hadisnya bahawa setiap anak yang lahir dalam keadaan suci. Maka, ayah dan ibulah yang akan mencorakkannya.

KETIGA
Umur 14-21 tahun. Pada masa ini orang tua sudah MENUKAR penanaman disiplin dengan cara yang agak KERAS kepada yang RASIONAL. Orang tua sudah semestinya mendidik anak dengan cara menjadikannya sahabat dalam berdiskusi, mengajaknya ikut dalam membincangkan masalah keluarga dan diberikan satu-satu tanggungjawab dalam hal-hal tertentu di rumah. Hal ini penting agar anak berasa dirinya punyai tanggungjawab mengambil berat hal-hal dalam keluarga.

KEEMPAT
Umur lebih 21 tahun. Pada masa ini, orang tua sudah boleh melepaskan anaknya untuk belajar menempuh hidup akan tetapi tetap melihat perkembangannya dan memberikan nasihat serta peringatan-peringatan apabila anak tersalah atau terlupa.

Dalam kehidupan kita sebagai muslim, kadang-kadang pendidikan yang diajar oleh Rasul itu tidak benar-benar diamalkan, bahkan ramai yang tidak mengamalkannya sama sekali.

Ada orang tua yang terlalu memanjakan anak sehingga umur 14 tahun dan baru mula mengajar dan menyuruhnya solat pada usia mereka 15 tahun sehingga mereka bukan sahaja enggan melakukannya malah marah kepada ibu bapanya. Jika kewajipan yg tertinggi (iaitu solat) yang telah diperintahkan Yang Maha Agung diabaikan apatah lagi dengan perintah dan suruhan orang lain termasuk ibu bapanya.

Kesimpulannya, masalah disiplin dan jenayah remaja dan pelajar muslim berkemungkinan terjadi kerana rapuhnya pendidikan iman dan cara didikan yang salah. Sebahagian ibu bapa menafikan hal ini kerana mereka tidak sedar kekerasan dan cara pendidikan yg mereka terapkan kepada anak-anak adalah secara membuta tuli tanpa melihat perkembangan umur anak-anak sehingga anak terasa dizalimi dan seterunya membesar dengan perasaan marah dan dendam kepada ibu bapa.